Should you use vitamin D against covid-19? In the Practitioner review, 73 French doctors signed an article on the potential effects of vitamin D against covid. According to them, generalized vitamin D supplementation constitutes a weapon to be added to the arsenal deployed against the disease.

Vitamin D and immunity

Since the start of the pandemic, the protective role of vitamin D has been debated but no scientifically sound data has been published to date. So why is it still an interesting lead? Because scientists know that a vitamin D deficiency can affect the functioning of the immune system. And several studies have already shown an association between vitamin D levels and the risk of acute respiratory infections, including the flu.

Read also: Covid-19: vitamin D would avoid complications

“Better armed” against disease

For covid, the first published studies show that vitamin D levels are lower in adults infected with the coronavirus than in others. This does not necessarily mean that a vitamin D deficiency puts you at an increased risk of developing the disease. But “known positive effects of vitamin D on the immune system suggest that people with satisfactory vitamin D status are better able not to develop the disease“explain the authors of the article.

Better still, vitamin D supplementation, even after infection, could reduce the severity of symptoms and improve survival in adults with covid-19. But this theory has yet to be verified in “large-scale clinical trials“, warn the researchers.

Safe and inexpensive

Anyway, in view of the first results and the knowledge acquired on vitamin D, “maintaining a satisfactory vitamin D status has benefits anyway“conclude the 73 signatories of the article. Especially since”vitamin D supplementation is a simple, effective, safe, inexpensive measure reimbursed by Health Insurance“.

Supplement the entire population in winter

And knowing that “about half of the general French population “ has a vitamin D deficiency, two behaviors should be adopted as soon as possible, according to the doctors:

• supplement vitamin D throughout the year for people at risk of deficiency (people 80 years and over, chronically ill, frail, dependent, obese, or living in nursing homes), and the general population during the winter period
• prescribe a dose of vitamin D in adults upon diagnosis of covid-19, in addition to standard treatments.

But be careful, even if the effectiveness of vitamin D was scientifically demonstrated, taking it does not replace the anti-covid vaccination, nor the respect of barrier gestures to fight against the epidemic of covid-19.

In addition, vitamin D is only available on medical prescription. No need to rush to your pharmacy!